Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born 17 January 1949) is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first
president of Barbados
The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state was ...
since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final
governor-general of Barbados
The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbados ...
from 2018 to 2021, the second woman to hold the office. On 20 October 2021, Mason was
elected by the
Parliament of Barbados to become the country's first president, and took office on 30 November 2021, when Barbados ceased to be a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
and
became a republic.
Mason was a practicing
attorney-at-law
Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the United ...
who has served as a High Court
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
in
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
and a Court of Appeal judge in Barbados, and was the first woman admitted to the
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
in Barbados. She served as chair of the
CARICOM commission to evaluate regional integration, was the first magistrate appointed an
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
from Barbados, and was the first woman to serve on the country's
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. She was the first appointee from Barbados to the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal. In 2017, she was appointed the 8th governor-general of Barbados, with a term beginning on 8 January 2018. Simultaneously with her appointment, Mason was awarded the Dame Grand Cross in the
Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. On assumption of the office of Governor-General, she became the Chancellor of the
Order of National Heroes
The Order of National Heroes is the supreme honour within the national honours system of Barbados and was established by the Order of National Heroes Act 1998 by the Parliament of Barbados. Members are referred to as National Heroes, and are a ...
,
Order of Barbados and the
Order of Freedom.
Early life and education
Sandra Prunella Mason was born on 17 January 1949
in
Saint Philip, Barbados.
After studying at St. Catherine's Primary School until age nine, she attended secondary school at
Queen's College,
then began teaching at the Princess Margaret Secondary School in 1968. The following year, she worked at
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
as a clerk. Mason enrolled in the
University of the West Indies at Cave Hill
University of the West Indies at Cave Hill is a public research university in Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of five general campuses in the University of the West Indies system.
It was the third campus to be established by the UWI System, follow ...
, where she earned a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
.
Mason was one of the first graduates of the Faculty of Law from UWI, Cave Hill, completing her education in 1973.
In 1975 she obtained a
Legal Education Certificate from
Hugh Wooding Law School in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, becoming the first woman attorney-at-law from Barbados to graduate from the school.
[ She was admitted to the bar on 10 November the same year, becoming the first woman member of the Barbados Bar Association.] She is a Soroptimist
Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...
and Patron of SI Barbados.
Early career and legal practice
Beginning in 1975, she worked in Trust Administration for Barclay's and transferred to several different posts within the Barclay's company until 1977.
In 1978, Mason began working as the Magistrate of the Juvenile and Family Court and simultaneously tutoring in family law at UWI. She stopped tutoring in 1983 and continuing as magistrate. In 1988, Mason completed the Royal Institute of Public Administration
The Royal Institute of Public Administration (RIPA) was a British professional public service institution and civil service training organisation that operated in the United Kingdom and overseas from its founding in 1922 to its closure in 1992.Shel ...
in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
's course on Judicial Administration. She served on the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child from its 1991 inception until 1999, holding the vice chair from 1993 to 1995 and chair from 1997 to 1999.
Between 1991 and 1992, Mason served as chair and was one of the two women appointed to the 13-member CARICOM commission charged with evaluating regional integration. She left the family court in 1992 to serve as an ambassador to Venezuela, and was the first woman magistrate from Barbados to serve in that position. Between 1993 and 1994 she also served as ambassador to Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.[ Upon her return to Barbados in 1994, Mason was appointed Chief Magistrate for Barbados, and in 1997 became the Registrar of the ]Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
.
In 2000, Mason completed studies on Alternative Dispute Resolution at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...
, Canada, and then completed a Fellowship with the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, in 2001, as well as a course in Advanced Dispute Resolution at UWI. She continued to serve as Registrar of the Supreme Court until 2005, when she was appointed as Queen's Counsel to the Inner Bar of Barbados. In 2008, Mason was sworn in as an Appeals Judge becoming the first woman to serve on the Barbados Court of Appeals. For three days in 2012, she became the acting Governor-General of Barbados and the following year was the first Barbadian appointed to membership in the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal
The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of ...
(CSAT). The Tribunal operates among members of the Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
to resolve issues concerning contract disputes. With that appointment, ''Loop News'' named her one of the 10 most powerful women in Barbados.
Governor-General of Barbados
In 2017, Mason was appointed as the eighth Governor-General of Barbados, with a term beginning on 8 January 2018. Simultaneously with her appointment, Mason was also appointed a Dame Grand Cross in the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.
In 2020, Mason, in her official capacity announcing government policy in the Throne Speech, written by the government of Prime Minister Mia Mottley
Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...
, stated that Barbados would become a republic, removing Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
as head of state. She was then expected to be nominated as a candidate to be the first president of Barbados, then to be elected by the two houses of parliament, and to assume office on 30 November 2021.
President of Barbados
On 12 October 2021, Mason was nominated by Prime Minister Mia Mottley
Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...
and Opposition Leader Joseph Atherley to become the first President of Barbados
The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state was ...
. On 20 October she was elected by both houses without opposition, although no national vote amongst the people was ever held. Mason took office on 30 November 2021, the 55th anniversary of Independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
. While she is nominally chief executive and is the sole head of state in Barbados, in practice her role is mostly ceremonial, much like her previous role as Governor-General. She makes first official visit to Kenya
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on June 2022.
Honours
* Chancellor and Principal Dame of St. Andrew Order of Barbados (DA)
* Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG)
* Dame of Grace of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John (DStJ)
* Order of Freedom of Barbados
The Order of Freedom of Barbados is a national honour established by the Order of Freedom of Barbados Act 2019 by the Parliament of Barbados. As part within the overarching Order of Barbados, it ranks higher than the Order of the Republic, but ...
(FB)
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Dame Sandra Prunella Mason, GCMG, D.A., Q.C.
Governor-General of Barbados at the Government of Barbados's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Sandra
Living people
1949 births
20th-century Barbadian lawyers
20th-century women lawyers
21st-century Barbadian lawyers
21st-century women lawyers
21st-century Barbadian women politicians
21st-century Barbadian politicians
Ambassadors of Barbados to Brazil
Ambassadors of Barbados to Venezuela
Barbadian judges
Barbadian lawyers
Barbadian Queen's Counsel
Barbadian women ambassadors
Barbadian women lawyers
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Female heads of state
Women presidents
Governors-General of Barbados
Presidents of Barbados
Heads of state of Barbados
Recipients of the Order of Freedom of Barbados
Knights and Dames of St Andrew (Barbados)
People from Saint Philip, Barbados
University of the West Indies alumni
University of Windsor Faculty of Law alumni
Queen's College (Barbados) alumni